Royal Air Force Troödos, commonly known as RAF Troödos, is a

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

in the

Republic of Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

. RAF Troödos is a remote Signals Station run by 27 personnel from Golf Section, Joint Service Signal Unit (Cyprus), and also contains Mount Olympus Radar Station. The station is based deep within the

Troödos Mountains Troodos (sometimes spelled Troödos; el, Τρόοδος ; tr, Trodos Dağları) is the largest mountain range in Cyprus, located in roughly the center of the island. Its highest peak is Mount Olympus ( el, Όλυμπος), also known as Chion ...

, approximately north of

Episkopi Episkopi ( el, Επισκοπή), or Latinised forms Episcopia or Piscopia, may refer to the following places: ;Cyprus: * Episkopi Bay, on the southeast coast * Episkopi, Limassol, a village on Episkopi Bay * Episkopi Cantonment, a British military ...

History

Troödos Station is the oldest remaining British military base in Cyprus, dating from 1878. Initially it was used as a cool summer field hospital for troops from the

Egyptian Campaign The French campaign in Egypt and Syria (1798–1801) was Napoleon Bonaparte's campaign in the Ottoman territories of Egypt and Syria, proclaimed to defend French trade interests, to establish scientific enterprise in the region. It was the pr ...

. British Army and Government officials also used it as a summer retreat.

Current use

Declassified documents show that RAF Troödos intercepted satellite communications for the

Government Communications Headquarters Government Communications Headquarters, commonly known as GCHQ, is an intelligence and security organisation responsible for providing signals intelligence (SIGINT) and information assurance (IA) to the government and armed forces of the Un ...

(GCHQ), and documents released by Edward Snowden suggest this has continued in recent years funded by the U.S.

National Security Agency The National Security Agency (NSA) is a national-level intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collecti ...

. Information from Snowden also indicates the site acts as a

listening post A radio listening station (also: listening post, radio intercept station or wireless intercept station, W/T station for wireless telegraphy) is a facility used for military reconnaissance, especially telecommunications reconnaissance (also kno ...

for radio signals from the near

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

. The

British National Space Centre The British National Space Centre (BNSC) was an agency of the Government of the United Kingdom, organised in 1985, that coordinated civil space activities for the United Kingdom. It was replaced on 1 April 2010 by the United Kingdom Space Age ...

Starbrook wide-field telescope has been here since 2006. It can detect orbiting objects from in size.

References

External links

Royal Air Force stations in Cyprus UKUSA listening stations {{RAF-stub

History

Current use

See also

References

External links